An angry fan threw a water bottle at Kyrie Irving following the Brooklyn Nets’ 141-126 victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday night.
The ill will between Boston and Irving had been growing for some time and it finally reached a boiling point after Game 4.
The fan in question was ultimately arrested and charged with assault and battery.
After the fact, Celtics fans attempted to justify the water-bottle throwing act by pointing to what Irving did prior to it happening.
What did he do? He stomped out the team’s logo.
Kyrie appeared to step on the Boston logo as he greeted his teammates at half court postgame.
(via @yornoc74) pic.twitter.com/thcXjX15He
— ESPN (@espn) May 31, 2021
Does that warrant the reaction Irving ultimately got? Some people seem to think so.
The amount of people trying to defend Kyrie Irving – basketball talent, emotional child – is stupefying. He’s great at hoops. But as he displayed tonight postgame with his logo stomp, he sucks at being mature, even after a big win and huge effort.
— Fitzy (@FitzyGFY) May 31, 2021
I love @KyrieIrving . But you can’t stomp a team logo and expect no retaliation for it. That’s like pulling your sister hair and then running to your parents when she’s trying to retaliate and play the victim. However, racism needs to end its 2021 not 1820. #oneteam #ActbeUnited
— Ålex ichæl (@CaptinHeyzeus) May 31, 2021
Don’t stomp on the logo and wonder why @KyrieIrving https://t.co/lQoUAmIHio
— DR J (@jacobsjj13) May 31, 2021
@KDTrey5 @KyrieIrving it’s also childish to stomp on the @celtics logo #soft
— Krunal Patel (@kroon52) May 31, 2021
Whether he’s getting brutally honest about his Muslim faith, explaining why an NBA title isn’t the end all be all for him, or going off on players for using racial slurs, Irving is never shy when it comes to expressing himself.
That is part of what makes him such a lightning rod, and it’s a big reason why he is as polarizing as he is these days.
Ayesha knows how to stay in the news https://t.co/shn4dxsmTZ
— Game 7 (@game7__) May 27, 2021
Related: Disturbing Details Emerge In Arrest Of Braves’ Marcell Ozuna
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.